I've been having ongoing issues with my RX 5700 XT graphics card (8GB), which I've had for about 6 years now. My power supply is also 6 years old at 650W. The problem is quite sporadic; sometimes my PC crashes while gaming within 15 minutes, while other times it can run for up to 6 hours before crashing, which makes diagnosing the issue really tricky. When it does crash, it often shows artifacting or green screen flickers right before. I've run some tests using OCCT at 100% load for the GPU and VRAM, and it seemed stable during those tests. I've tried underclocking and undervolting, which might have made it a bit more stable, but I'm not sure if that's just luck. A friend suggested my aging power supply could be causing voltage spikes leading to the green screen issues, but I'm really torn between whether it's the PSU or the GPU causing the crashes. I don't have spare parts or another PC to test with, so I'd love any advice on how to pinpoint the problem!
2 Answers
Your troubleshooting steps are pretty solid! Since it could be a power issue, definitely consider checking your PSU. If you can’t borrow one easily, local computer stores sometimes allow you to test with their PSUs—might be worth asking! If you still run into crashes after trying everything, it might help to do a clean install of Windows; corrupted files can mess things up, too. Just make sure to back up your files if you go that route!
It sounds like you're dealing with a tough situation! Given that your PSU is also older, that's definitely a prime suspect for causing those inconsistent crashes. If you happen to get your hands on a different PSU—even a borrowed one—try swapping it in to see if that helps. Also, cleaning and reseating the GPU and checking for looseness in the cables can make a difference. Have you tried using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to get rid of your current drivers and then reinstalling the latest stable ones? Sometimes, driver issues can lead to those pesky crashes, too. Another tip might be to disable XMP in the BIOS; sometimes RAM overclock settings can cause instability as well. Best of luck!
Thanks for the tips! I did reseat the GPU and clean everything out recently. I’ll definitely try using DDU to reinstall the drivers and see if that fixes anything.
I haven’t thought of asking a local store about trying a PSU. That could save me some hassle! I guess I’ll look into that.